Traveling With My Bicycles

Wrapping up the editing of my booklet "Traveling With My Bicycles".  It tells a short story of what drove me to riding bicycles.  Most of the booklet is filled with how to create your "mulit-activity" trip.

Plans are to make the booklet available as an e-book for Kindle.

Preface -

"So, what are you going to do to keep active?" was the question my cardiac rehab folks asked in my exit interview. After weeks walking on the treadmill, I knew this was not the solution. My mom walks with a group. But walking the mall did not appeal me, either. Hiking is great, but "hiking" amongst the corn fields of Iowa?

As a kid, I used to ride a bicycle. Maybe that would peak my interest. I set out to look at purchasing a bicycle. I started riding local trails. Soon, I was taking a bicycle with me on trips. These trips combined my exploring nature, love of photography, and riding my bicycle.

The trips I take are not for folks that want to lay on the beach and work on their tan. They are trips filled with activity yet leaving time to relax, recover and reflect.

This booklet is a compilation of what I have learned planning and implementing these trips. It is not a recipe for the perfect trip. It is meant to cause you to consider ways to blend activities you enjoy with things you are passionate about into your travels.

 

THOR Annual Meeting

Seems that the weather for THOR (Trails Have Our Respect) annual meeting is always bitter cold!.  This past Sunday did not disappoint us.

From what I count with the photo, there were about 70 attendees.  Chair Roxy Feagan welcomed the group.  It what a change from the attendance of the first THOR Annual Meeting I attended in about 80 years ago.  That meeting was held in the back of a bike shop and attended by 8 members!

Meeting was held at the National Park Service in Omaha.  The members learned about current status of becoming a chapter of IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association).  Breakout groups discussed the goals and future of THOR.  There was time to brain-storm to see what projects the membership would like.

Meeting ended with election of THOR's Board of Directors for the coming year.

THOR Annual Meeting

Saturday, I had two functions I could attend - SWIARC (Amateur Radio) flea market or the THOR (Trails Have Our Respect) Annual Meeting.  I opted on the THOR meeting and glad I did.

The first time I attended a THOR annual meeting it was in 2007(?).  The meeting was held in the repair part of a local bike shop.  There were about 8 attendees.

The 2014 version brought out about 40 members to talk about an advocate for dirt trails in the area.  Awesome turnout for a bitter cold day.  Thanks for the National Park Service for the use of their space. (See upper photo)

The meeting started with welcoming message and goals for the meeting.  Short reports offered by officers, committee chairs, and trail leaders.  Quickly the group got down to the meet if the meeting.

Currently, THOR is an affiliated club of IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association).  There was a video presentation about the benefits of becoming a Chapter of IMBA.  One complaint about the video - The narrator talked way to fast (missed about half of the words) and the graphics flashed in too quickly. 

Break-out groups were given the task of defining what they wanted the singletrack/mountain bike community would look like in 2020.  Many ideas were introduced for future consideration.  It gave an idea of the direction the club wants to take.   (see lower photo)

There was another break-out session where topics of Trail Maintenance, Social  Functions,  Fund Raising, and Strategic Planning/Development were discussed.  I was somewhat surprised that the largest break-out group (over half of the attendees) were in the Trail Maintenance discussion! 

There are high school cycling teams being formed in the Omaha area.  A representative of the high school cycling league spoke about the goals of the league and asked for THOR member help.  Another guest speaker was a representative from the Omaha Mayor's office.  He attended the entire meeting and made some remarks.

Meeting finished with nomination and elections of required club officers.  For those missed the meeting - Officers were re-elected for another term.  Roxzanne Feagan (Pres), Mike Farrell (VP), April Eyberg (Secr), Dave Neef (Treas).  Meeting ended at time,  The club trailer was in the parking lot available to dropping off metal for recycling. 

Bring Your Own Kid Mountain Biking Day

The annual Trails Have Our Respect (THOR) event was held at Omaha's Tranquility Park on Sunday, October 13^th. The function was originally scheduled for Saturday, October 5^th, in conjunction with the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day.

THOR's trail leaders rescheduled the event because of poor trail conditions (soft, muddy trails). This worked well, because the weather was perfect for fun on bicycles.

THOR's President Roxzanne Feagan reported there were 28 kids, ranging 3 to 10 years of age that participated. An estimated 20 adults were there for the function.

There was a little of everything to keep everyone busy. There were groups rides on the Tranquility Park trails. THOR's “Grill-master” David Packard and his crew fed the hungry kids. It was back for another group ride followed with riding skills events. The event was topped off with smor's.

All of my photos from the event can be viewed at:  http://win-photo.photoreflect.com.  Please note - for any orders, i will start from the camera RAW and reprocess the files (doing touch-up) before sending the file.

A great time was had by all.

Tourist Day in Duluth-Superior

It was a busy day playing 'tourist" today.  Slept in a little, had a bagel & coffee at the hotel.  Then consulted the maps to find my way via highway to Canal Park.

My first stop was the Lake Superior Maritime Museum.  The top photo here is the entry hall to the museum.  I was there early (9:45) as the museum did not open until 10am.  It was interesting to see so much information about the shipping on Lake Superior.  One exhibit I found very interesting was a relief of the Great Lakes and surrounding area.  It really shows the depth of the Great Lakes.  I knew Lake Superior was deep, but did not know Lake Michigan has a very deep section. 

The building that houses the museum is also the offices of the Corps ot Engineers.  Not a large museum.  Sure can't complain as there is no admission fee.  The museum is in Canal Park right next to the Aerial Lift Bridge. Parking was pretty reasonable - 2$ for the first 2 hours..

Next was the agenda was the Great Lakes Aquarium.  Admission to the aquarium was a bit steep.  First, there was $5 for parking.  Admission was $16.50 (at least there was a discount for seniors - $13.50 for those 62+).  The middle photo on today's posting is of the entrance of the aquarium.

The most interesting exhibit for me was the large model of the Great Lakes water system including locks, power plant, and even Niagara Falls.  I spent about a hour at the aquarium.

It was about lunch time, so thought I would find the Anchor Inn in Superior for lunch.  I had been told they have great, cheap hamburgers.  Alas - Tower Avenue is all torn up.  Gave up and headed to the next stop.

I knew that today was the Richard I Bong Veterans Historical Center 3rd annual Open House (I was there 2 years ago!)  Free burgers/dogs, chips, and soda.  So, I could at least get a little food before later dinner.

Did not see much new - but it was a nice break.  The museum has artifact from WWI, WWII, Korea, VietNam, and the "cold war".  Did not see anything about Iraq or Afghanistan.  The center piece of the museum collection is a P-38 plane.

By this time, my left knee was having a fit.  Time to go to the hotel and "get horizontal".  After a little nap, I processed the photos I took today.  Then it was time for some dinner.  After some debating, I decided to find a place for pizza and beer.

The Firelight Inn (don't remember why I ended up at that site) recommended Thirsty Pagan Brewing.  I knew I could find the brew-pub since I was past it earlier, trying to find the Anchor Inn.

I told my server (Christy) that I would like an Amber Ale, if they had one.  She served me a pint of North Coast Amber - brewed on premises by thier brewer - Allyson.  OK, does it sounds like I was getting to friendly with the brewery?  t was just so easy.  Manager Steve stopped by and answered any of my questions.

I like to sample the local beers while on the road.  Talking with Steve, he asked how Hayward biking was - I said it was mostly wet.  He also stays at the Country Inn in Deerwood, knew the owner, Dan.  I asked if he knew Hansi - the local IMBA Regional Director - he does.  Guess he's also a mountain biker! Gave Steve the URL for my cycling blog and general web site.

Was a very enjoyable dinner.  I can sure recommend Thirsty Pagan Brewing for beer and pizza and friendly staff.

Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Festival

Saturday was a busy day at the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Festival. I arrived about 7:30 am the check in my art work for the show. About the same time whey were starting the morning kayak tour. It is always interesting as organized chaos gels into a festival.

The festival opened at 9am. I was pre-registered, which made check-in a snap. Wrist bands for various function, My red band signified I was on the Poker Ride. This was also time to contemplate raffle prizes and souvenir purchases (t-shirts, socks).

At the same time, the XC time trial was run on the dirt trails. I did not go to shoot the time trail or the hill climb (later in the morning). The vendor area opened. Bike manufacturers, bike shops, eateries, trail groups, paddle boat rides, masseuses, even a B&B hawking Viking wares. There dare-devils were jumping from a lift, dropping onto a big air bag (US Air Bag).

10am it was the Bike Parade. Crosby Fire Department and IMBA lead off the parade. The parade came out of the park, up Hwy 210, through downtown Crosby, and back. Once the parade departed the park, I headed to the hotel to change clothes (into my cycling kit).

By the rime I was back, the festival was in full swing. 11 am was the Kryponite Hill Climb. Live music started at the pavilion. Youth and beginner skills ares were off to camp to hone their trail riding skills.

Group rides departed Crosby Memorial Park at 12:30, The same time the group rides were out on the singletrack, back a the Park were clinics on basic bike maintenance and trail preparedness.

Twin Cities Fantasy Factory had two BMX stunt shows featuring their traveling Mega Jump. Amazing how high these kids and their bikes could fly. The photo with this posting shows a riding and his bike fly over another while standing on top of the Mega Jump. Took .many photos of the stunt show - posted on the events web site

I did the poker ride. With the heat and my health, I drove part of the way. Still took me 1 1/2 hours to get the 5 cards. But no luck, the hand I was deals -- K-Q-J-9-3. Winning hand was 4 Ace's.

There was the always popular kid's races. I have never seen so many kids on bikes! The kid's races earned a separate section of the events photo web site.

There was the second performance of the BMX Stunt Show. Following was the awards ceremony. I received a commemorate medallion for my entry in the Art Show. By this time, i was past exhausted. Headed for the car and drove back to the hotel. Ended the day with a shower, dinner at the Deerstand, and then into BED!

I had a good time. As I expected, the organizers crammed too much into one day. I would have prefered a 2-day event.

Photos I took during the festival are posted on my events & race photo web site http://win-photo.photorefelect.com

Quite possibly, the Greatest Show on Earth.

Saturday is Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Festival. The festival headquarters will be in the park in Crosby, MN. Crosby is an easy 2 hour drive North of the Twin Cities.

Why Cuyuna? Cuyuna Country Ride Center. Over 25 miles of sweet singletrack in the Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area. Ride amongst and over the overburden from the iron ore mining. Add in the northern hospitality and its a great time. I was there last year for the grand opening of the Ride Center. Came back for rides in the Fall colors.

Friday is the IMBA Great Lakes Summit at Cuyuna.

Weather is forecast to be awesome for bicycle riding.

Hope to see you there.

ps: Next on my schedule is MidWest Mountain Bike Festival. Scott County (Iowa) Park near the Quad Cities.

IMBA Epic Tribute

Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association (CAMBA) Rock Lake Trail is now an "Epic" trail. The International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) "Epic" designation was announced in November.

On June 4th (National Trails Day) CAMBA members, IMBA members, the US Forest Service, and Festival of the Trails participants gathered at Rock Lake Trailhead to pay tribute to the trail. The CAMBA Rock Lake Epic actually is a collection of interconnected trails in the Namakagon Cluster - Rock Lake, Patsy Lake, and Namakagon Trails.

After the tribute, some started off to ride the 31 miles of the new Epic. Another group rode some easier section of the trail.

The Rock Lake Epic and the other CAMBA trails are in NW Wisconsin. Eventually the area will have over 100 miles of interconnected trails around the area. Towns of Cable, Delta, Drummond, Hayward, Namakagon, and Seeley host the CAMBA trail system.

Check out the CAMBA web site for more information about the Rock Lake Epic, CAMBA trails, and Festival of the Trails.

When work is done

Sunday was time for fun and relaxation.

I started at Panera to post the photos I took during the trail class and workshop. (Oh yeah, and the BBQ). Then it was meet up for the bike ride with IMBA Trail Care Crew.

This is the FUN part of trail work - the BBQ and bike ride. We had a pretty good turn-out for a Sunday morning ride at Swanson Park. It was the most climbing I have done this year. With in my condition, I was only able to ride about 2.5 miles in the woods.

After a couple laps at Swanson, some went to Jewell. It was enough for me, so headed to Iowa. Stopped at Xtreme Wheels to drop off Psycowpath race posters. Most of the afternoon was spend napping or chatting on the computer.

Adams Park Trail Day

Saturday was every busy day. I started with a full breakfast at Hy-Vee.

Off to Adams Park in N. Omaha for the trail building class. The instructors were Steve and Morgan Lommele one of the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crews. I attended a similar class a couple years ago in Rapid City. So, my function was to shoot photos.

There were over 30 to attend the lecture section of the class. More came in the afternoon, swelling the number up to about 40. During the afternoon hands on session, the crew built about 1000 ft of new singletrack. A great accomplishment.

After a break, some assembled at Roxy and Ryan's for a BBQ.

Meeting with IMBA

MONDAY, NOV. 9
6PM
OLD CHICAGO, 78TH & CASS

Ryan Schutz (IMBA's Regional Director) will be visiting on November 9 & 10 to do a "Scoping Visit". He'll be here to get a lay of the land, and facilitate us through the process of creating what we hope will be a master plan of our green space/trail system. With your help, we... can identify our existing green spaces, parks, greenways, preserves, etc, and also identify the gaps and potential connectors.

On Nov. 9th, he would like to meet with the THOR advisory board members and those interested in playing a role in learning more about organizational building.

Symposium - Day 2

Today, I had to take a photo of what I could use as a bike rack inside of the Convention Center. OH well.

The day started with coffee & rolls in a session called "Trail Talk". I sat at the table where the topic was "Trail Maintenance - You Built, They Came, Now What".

After coffee, it was off to the meeting rooms. There were 2 session in the morning that I was interested in: "Inviting the Community Back into the Woods - Nature Trails in Urban Landscapes" and "Biking Toward a Sustainable Future". Both of these were lead by IMBA.

We broke for lunch where the SHORT business meeting was held (elect the board and adjourn). Keynote Addess was made by Dr. Richard Jacksin, UCLA School of Public Health.

In the afternoon, I attended presentations titled "Buy, Sell, Beg, or Borrow: Creative Funding Ideas from American Trails" presented by Friends of the Katy Trail (the Dallas, Katy Trail) and "Understanding Sustainablity and Boulding Better Trails" presented by IMBA and Elakah Expeditions.

The day closed with the "Trails Rock" Party at the Clinton Library.

Symposium - Day 1

The American Trails Symposium opened yesterday afternoon. Rode my bike to the afternoon session.

The afternoon was visiting at the exhibitor booths. Several booths had not been set up yet. A couple were not manned. Anyway, checked out the exhibit hall. Picked up some information.

In the evening there was the Opening reception. Thanks to Lewis & Clark Outfitters for the food!

During this session, I talked with Scott Linnenburger of IMBA. I had met Scott in Rapid City for Black Hill Fat Tire Festival. We talked about THOR plans, and desires. Later, I met Mary Hanson from National Parks (out of Omaha) Did some networking there.

Ended the evening with a drive to the Big Dam Bridge to take photos. Got some good shots. (Sure was raw out up on the bridge.)

Black Hills Fat Tire Festival

Yesterday I attend the Rapid City Walk & Bike for Life Summit. The day started with a presentation by IMBA about Ride Centers. Heard a lot of information that says we could create a Ride Center that encompasses THOR trails. How neat that would be.

Very interested in what more is being done for the Arkansas River Trail. Maybe I will attend the National Trails Symposium in Little Rock - Nov 08.

Today was the first day for the Mickelson Trail Ride. Weather was cold, damp, some drizzle. Trail surface was soft but ride able without damage. Eight of us on the ride. I only rode 10 miles - Dumont to Rochford. Others started riding from Deadwood - too many miles up steep hills. The photo here was taken in one of the tunnels on the Mickelson.

Welcome social tonight. More riding on the Mickelson tomorrow.

Black Hills Fat Tire Festival

Well, this is my first blog entry. Today is the first day of Black Hills Fat Tire Festival - my first mountain bike festival. Also, the first BHTFH. If I keep this up, I can say I attended every one!

I am pumped up! I know its going to be a GREAT weekend.

Here we are - the IMBA Trail School.

Sounds like a good group arriving from Omaha.

I will have a full report on my web site when I get back. (www.tomwinfield.com/bike)

Off to the Welcoming Social....